UEA Art History Society puts on charity exhibition

The newly founded UEA Art History Society are excited to announce their debut exhibition ‘Connection’, taking place from March 15th-17th at Nunn’s Yard, just a stone’s throw away from Norwich Playhouse. The event is in collaboration with local charity organisation New Roots Integration.

New Routes’ aim is to create social inclusion and cohesion in the Norwich community, endeavouring to develop the skills of disadvantaged minority ethnic individuals and communities, and support their involvement with society. Their focus is on contributing towards social and racial cohesion in Norwich by building connections among people of differing backgrounds. The society picked New Routes out of a desire to support the local community, as well as finding the Refugee Crisis particularly relevant in the current political climate.

The UEA Art History Society is only in its first year. Being built from the ground up, both the committee and its members have worked hard to generate the funds to put on this exhibition. Their dedication to fundraising for this event shows just how worthy they find its cause. They believe that as university students who are staying in Norwich for three years or more, it is our duty to directly engage with the local community, and that we cannot remain ignorant and naïve, believing that the refugee crisis does not concern us.

Taking on the ethos of New Routes and the theme of connection, the exhibition has taken a collaborative shape. ‘Connection’ will feature a documentary made by the UEA Filmmaking Society, content from the UEA Creative Writing Society, and also involves work by students from Norwich University of the Arts. A lot of the collaborative work has gone into the creation of a zine which will be sold at the exhibition, any profits from which will be donated to New Routes.

Connection is about people and place and is at the heart of what New Routes do. Much of the exhibition has been created by Norfolk based artists and writers. On the opening night Salah, an Egyptian refugee, will be doing a live poetry reading. One of the unique aspects of ‘Connection’ is its interdisciplinary content, from textiles, painting and sculpture to print, poetry, and film. One of the pieces that will be featured in the exhibition is a textile embroidery of the children living in the Calais Jungle. While not all of the artworks are directly about refugees, they are all linked by the broad theme of ‘connection’.

The exhibition opens on March 15th 7pm-10pm, and will run on March 16th 10am-5pm and March 17th 10pm-4pm.